Tearing it up

You know when Graham really likes a book because he literally tears it up. He loves this counting book uber much, and as you can see, he loves tearing the pages out too.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Feeling better

Graham is back to himself today thank goodness. He had a rough night but he looks and seems much better. Brett was great with him last night. Super glad he is feeling better. And I know he is feeling better because he took out all the lids and cans of soup and is banging them on the floor and rolling them around. And I got a high five.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Sad feeling Graham

Graham was not feeling great at all today. This is his sad little face before his medicine kicked in. He was such a snuggle bunny today with both Brett and me. That part was nice; him not feeling well was sad, but I think he is getting better.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

A Molar Baby

So we received more news about our baby. I got a call from the doctor a week ago, and she had news to share. Turns out, 2 sperm fertilized my egg, creating a triploid baby. Instead of having 2 sets of chromosomes, our baby had 3, which is not good at all. Our little one would not have survived long in the womb, much less outside of it, so it is better this way. This condition is also known as a partial molar pregnancy (google it). This means that because of the abnormality in my uterus, tissue can grow in there at any time creating a problem. So, I am getting weekly blood tests to check on my HcG levels; they are making sure it decreases and stays there. A high or elevated blood HcG level means tissue is growing in my uterus which is not good; like I would need to have another procedure to remove it or fight it with cancer drugs not good. If my HcG level continues to stay negative, then I have to wait another 6 months to make sure I am all good to go before we start trying again for another baby (think end of the year to 2013 wait time).

Get all that?

You should totally look up partial molar pregnancy; that is what Brett and I have done to find out the most information about it. We are in a waiting game right now. I have a follow up appointment next Monday to talk with the doctor and see what happens from here. I had blood drawn last Wednesday, my day to go every week, and my HcG level was 26. It is good, but I need it to be 5 or less, but I am getting there. My last HcG level before that was on December 28 and that was over 78,000, so I am getting there. I have to go back on the pill; I cannot get pregnant until this is all sorted out.

I totally had a freak out once Brett got home and we talked about it all. Then I had to go to work. I am very thankful I work with other moms who were there to hug and support me through that night of not really knowing anything. So now, we wait. We focus on each other and Graham, and get through this one day at a time, one week at a time and before we know it, we will get the OK to start trying again.

That is what I know right now. It is hard waiting and not knowing. I am glad we have a doctor appointment next week to talk things through and get more information. Brett has been amazing at being my rock and making me feel safe, and Graham is the best at distraction and making me realize that this time will fly by watching him grow. I cannot thank my family and friends enough who are there when I call or who send prayers and hugs out our way to help us get through the days. I will keep you posted on my HcG levels (which happen weekly) and see where we go from there. I am a terrible draw with blood, and I may run out of non-bruised arm space; I already have one from last week.

Thanks for listening. good night & good morning!

Snoozing Surprise

From a few weeks ago. We were out and about, and suddenly our man falls asleep in the middle of his bottle.

Story Time

Here are photos of Graham reading to me a few weeks ago.

22 Months

22 months and looking to dress up his wardrobe a bit.

super puzzle kid

Graham loves his puzzles he got for Christmas. Brett said he just started putting the puzzle pieces back in the puzzles; up until now, we only excelled at taking all the pieces out. So, I was super excited that I was able to watch him put the pieces back in the puzzle. Good job Graham!

Serious eater

Having a family dinner at Applebees. He was so good and very serious with his food. Thanks for the gift card G&G!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Making the bed

I had a super big helper making the bed this week. It literally took my 30 minutes to get it made, but we had a lot of fun.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

a new tent

Brett found this tent for Graham. We were not sure if he would like it or not; he ignored it for a while, but then, wowza, he loves it! He plays with it in his own way, which is all over the place.

Colts Dummy (no punch line needed)

Graham was just hanging out, perched at his lookout spot in front of the window.  He suddenly noticed the Colts Dummy (thanks GiGi and Grandpa) moving in on Mommy. Graham came to Mommy's rescue (or Daddy's... cozy under that blanket Mommy?) and makes quick work of the Colts Dummy.  Order restored.

New Years Eve

From New Year's Eve - This is Graham getting his party on.

Outside on New Years Eve

Graham and daddy spent some time outside while mommy went to work. We had a blast.

Pure bath time joy

Graham in the bath is like an extreme sport. You need padding and rain gear if you are anywhere near the bathroom.

Family photo

Here we are right after Christmas.

a new addition...ended

Brett and I were so excited to find out we were expecting baby #2. We started trying and were super pumped when I found out I was pregnant in early November. I had the typical nausea I had with Graham and boy was it different having to care for Graham while trying to grow another human being. Completely different the first time. I remember one day in particular I was 6 weeks pregnant and feeling like I could puke at any minute when I called Brett and said I didn't know if I could do this for another 6 weeks. He said you're half way through it, hang in there. So, I did. I was having some bleeding, but I had the same thing with Graham, so I didn't worry about it. We had our prenatal nurse visit soon, so I would wait and tell her about it then. I was 8 weeks pregnant when I met with the nurse. Because of the bleeding, we scheduled an ultrasound for the next day. I didn't have an awesome feeling about it, but I tried to stay positive through it. The ultrasound lady told me the baby was measuring small and she went to talk with a doctor. They said the baby was measuring at 6 weeks, and I said I was 8 weeks. I could be off with my weeks because we had not been off the pill for that long or something could be wrong with the baby. I got a rogam shot (because I am rH -) which stopped the bleeding immediately, so I was hoping we were all good. We scheduled another ultrasound for a week later; the baby should have grown in a week. It didn't. Our baby was still measuring at 6 weeks. So we met with a doctor and we went through our options. Since the baby had been in me for almost a month and not growing, we decided to go ahead and get it removed, since it had been in there for so long.

So yesterday, I had the baby removed. It was the hardest thing ever. I went from being pregnant to not being pregnant in like half an hour. Very surreal and yet very real. It is hard to really focus on it since I have Graham running around and then it just hits you, like it is hitting while I write this post. So I am no longer pregnant and we are in a waiting game now for me to heal and get back to normal. I feel fine and then sad and then fine. I can go a whole day and not think about it and then stay awake all night wondering about it. I never thought I would be pregnant more than 2 times, I know I always tell Brett I want three kids, but I never actually thought I would be pregnant a third time. So, there it is. This is why there was almost an entire month with no new posts...but hopefully that will change. Graham is changing and growing everyday, and he is doing something wonderful and new all the time. And I promise to be better about sharing it with you.

Thanks for listening, I needed it. It may come up again, but for now, I feel better. At least I hope I can get some major sleep tonight. And Brett got a totally new iPhone for Christmas and it takes awesome photos, and I told him he can now post the fabulous pictures it takes so watch out people, more posts are on the way.

Christmas 2011

Finally, Christmas! Graham was super excited to get up on Christmas day, I think we were up at 6-630, so we got an early start. We had to eat (pregnant ladies always need to eat first) and then did stockings and then onto presents. Graham's first present was a book with wheels, he loved it and tested it right away. That was the only challenge of the day; if it had wheels, they had to roll, otherwise we melted down. Thankfully, they all did but one, and Brett was able to hide that one away until we are ready for it.

He would bring you the present he wanted to open. The big ones went first.

He opened a few books and had to read or lick them to test then out. This was one with a "bumpy" page. And yes, it is no longer bumpy. I was super tired that day, thank goodness we didn't have much to do but open presents and Skype, it was great to be in pajamas all day!

He loved getting all the cars. They all had to be opened immediately.

And the popcorn tin. I was craving a popcorn tin, and Mary and Neal came through with one, and a super cool Colts tin too. Thanks from all of us. The popcorn was yummy and Graham got to push it around too.

Graham got some new orange shoes that Brett found. He was not too sure of them that day, but he likes them now.

All presents had to be started by Brett or myself and Graham would sit in your lap and finish opening them. We also had to put shoes on for a while.

More books, and I got super cold.

Checking out some news trains.

He had excellent patience while we took the cars/trains out of their wrapping. But I love the look on his face while he waited, so cute!

He would not stop to eat, so we had to improvise and put his food in the middle of the room so he could still roll his cars and get a quick bite. He had no time to stop playing for long.

Checking out the stash, we all had a very merry Christmas!

He even got to take new cars in his Christmas bath. Apparently they were yummy!

And another new talent; he is using the tub as a highway for the cars. Good job buddy!

We had a long and excellent Christmas. We are very blessed for all we received and were so glad to be able to see all our family on Skype calls. We heart you all!